why are my cloth objects not acting properly
After I investigated this scene, I found that your mesh was not properly baked.  All you need to do is select the waving yellow flags, go to the cloth settings in the physics tab, scroll down, and click on bake.  (see image below)

After it is done baking, your simulation should work fine.  If you encounter further problems, let me know and I'll be happy to help!  Hope I've been helpful to you! : )
(PS, if this answer worked, please mark it as accepted)